Bill's Reaction – Chapter 33
The unexpected call from Constable Michaels jarred Elizabeth. It not only caused her to remember both Jack's last day and Nathan's inquiry in Hope Valley, but she wondered why Nathan didn't disclose this to her when they were speaking just moments ago. Surely, he must be aware of the inquiry? Wouldn't he be?
Responding to their daughter's furrowed brow and puzzled look, Grace asked the question that was on both parents' minds, "Elizabeth, what is the matter? Is everything alright?"
Elizabeth shared her concerns with both parents, concluding with, "I don't understand why Nathan would allow a virtual stranger to share that news with me, when he was planning on calling me anyway."
William looked at his daughter and replied, "Elizabeth, we don't know if Nathan is aware of the inquiry. He is here in Hamilton, but you don't know what his orders are. The Mounties have a protocol for everything. Believe me, I learned all that when my car was stolen." William recalled in their prior conversation Nathan had said 'plans had changed.' He wondered to himself what that meant.
Aloud he continued, "Perhaps, he will make an effort to see you while he's in Hamilton and the whole matter will be cleared up?"
Elizabeth blushed as she realized she forgot to share her other news with them.
"Oh yes," she started, "as you are aware Father, Nathan called earlier. He asked me out to dinner, since he was in Hamilton."
William beamed, "Oh really? Well, that is an interesting turn of events. Do you know where he is taking you?"
Elizabeth laughed and replied, "Yes, right over there." She pointed to the terrace located just off the family room. She continued with, "I gave Nathan a couple of options and I sort of alluded that this would be my preference." She cleared her throat and looked at her father before continuing, "I was hoping that you would take Mother out for the evening."
Grace spoke up, "Elizabeth! What about propriety? I haven't even met him."
Elizabeth responded quickly, "Well, I suggested he come around 5 p.m., as I know Little Jack would love to see him before he goes down for the night. Perhaps, we could serve hors d'oeuvres and you could meet Nathan at that time, Mother. Then, Father could take you out for the evening?" Elizabeth gave both parents a pleading look.
William spoke up, "That is perfectly fine with me." Turning to his wife he commented, "There is nothing to worry about, Grace. They are not strangers to one another. I have met the man and I trust him – not only with our daughter, but with our grandson too. Elizabeth has offered a fair compromise; they can have the house and we will have an evening out to ourselves."
Elizabeth thanked her father and excused herself. She still had some plans to make for tomorrow night.
It wasn't long until there was a knock on her bedroom door. She was surprised to see her father standing there and asked him to come into her room.
He entered and spoke gently, "My Dear, I wanted to have a quiet word with you about Nathan not mentioning the inquiry to you."
Elizabeth was standing in front of her wardrobe cabinet. She looked at her father with a curious expression to let him know she was listening.
William continued, "Dear, having met the man and knowing a little about your history together, is it possible he wanted his call to be purely social and have nothing to do with The Mounties or anything that happened in the past?"
"Think about it - he didn't have to call you today, at all. He didn't even have to tell you he was in Hamilton. He could have waited until the Mountie business was all sorted out first. Instead, he chose to call you, as soon as he could, and tell you he was in town. Not only that, he asked you out for dinner."
Elizabeth turned to face her father and leaned her back against the sturdy cabinet. After pausing to let that first part sink in, William went on, "Before you judge him too harshly, put yourself in his shoes. Given your past, he already knew he was taking a big risk asking you out on a date, yet he did it anyway."
Oh yes indeed, Elizabeth thought regretfully to herself, remembering what had happened when Nathan had tried before to ask her out and take her on a date. Asking her out on a date required courage.
"Elizabeth, I believe it was meant to be a personal call and had nothing to do with his job as a Mountie. That call came from Nathan Grant, the Man."
William's twinkling eyes gazed into Elizabeth's glistening ones as he finished speaking. Elizabeth slumped back against the wardrobe and said, "Of course, you are right, Father. Thank you for sharing this wisdom with me."
As she blinked her eyes clear, she asked, "I am ashamed to admit it, but I am far too quick to jump to conclusions – particularly with Nathan. Why do I do that?"
William smiled and softly replied, "Ask God for His Wisdom and search your heart. I am confident that if you do that, God will show you the answer. While you're at it, ask God to show you why Nathan would reach out to you, again."
He ended with, "I will leave you to do some soul-searching. I'm here if you need to talk further, but I think God will show you what you need to know."
They shared a father-daughter embrace. Feeling reassured and accepted in her father's arms, Elizabeth said "Thank you for your support and guidance, Father. Most of all, thank you for stopping me from making another error in judgement."
As they released each other and William headed toward the door, Elizabeth stopped him and asked "What should I do about the inquiry, Father?"
William pursed his lips together and said, "If you have questions, call Sam Collins and get the answers. I know you're a strong woman Elizabeth, but I don't want you going to the inquiry alone. Jack was my son-in-law and the father of my grandson. I regret not being a better father-in-law to him. That is a cross that I must bear. Should you wish to attend, I will go with you for support. I have some questions I would like answered, myself."
Elizabeth teared up again at the thought that she would have her father's support at the inquiry. A tearful Elizabeth hugged her father tightly. After consoling her, he softly whispered in her ear, "Don't you have a date to plan for?"
As she nodded her head and gave him a trembling smile, she watched her father leave her childhood bedroom.
As her father alluded to, she certainly did have plans to make for the following day.
She spoke with the kitchen staff and arranged to help them prepare a simple meal for dinner the next evening. The staff were shocked that she wanted to prepare a meal, but remembering her place in the household, they quickly agreed to let her assist with the meal preparation.
Next up, she wanted to find two outfits. One for church in the morning, the other for her date with Nathan.
Elizabeth quickly selected one of her new skirts and a coordinating blouse suitable to wear to church in the morning. If there was either a hat or fascinator somewhere in this house, she would be all set for tomorrow morning.
Now, she was struggling to find something suitable to wear on her date with Nathan. She wanted something special – something that she would remember for years to come, assuming things went the way she was hoping and praying they would.
She sighed deeply and said aloud to herself, 'Why did I let my pride get in the way? I could have afforded that dress I saw this morning. It's my own fault I'm here looking for my sisters' cast-offs – again!"
She thought back to the cream formal gown that her mother bought for her on their shopping day. It was beautiful, but that was really meant to be worn to a much more formal event. She became distracted at the idea of seeing Nathan in a tuxedo someday. She couldn't help but think how they would complement each other on the dance floor. She shook her head and came back to reality. As pleasant as the thought was, allowing herself to be mesmerized by it was not going to find a suitable dress for a first date.
If all else failed, she did have the gown she had brought from Hope Valley, – Nathan had never seen her in it, although it was also quite formal. Then she chided herself for even considering such a tasteless thought – to wear the same gown as she wore to Jack's makeshift 'Mountie Ball.' That was just wrong on so many levels! Oh well, best keep looking.
As she flipped through the closets, each option got rejected for one reason or another. Finally, she flopped down in the chair in Julie's room and sighed sadly. For all her efforts, all she had found was a lovely pair of slingback sandals and even they were mocking her – the sandals were silver and covered in sequins.
Elizabeth was completely unaware of her mother's presence in the room until she spoke.
"Dear, what are you looking for in your sisters' closets?" Grace inquired.
"Oh Mother, I'm looking for something extra special to wear tomorrow night. So far, all I've found are these beautiful sandals." Elizabeth was almost in tears with frustration. "Oh Mother, you know how important tomorrow night is to me. I did something very foolish this morning-"
Grace interrupted her daughter, "Yes, Elizabeth, I know all about this morning. Wait right here. I think I have something that will help you" Grace walked down the hall to the room she had shared with William for most of their married life and retrieved the dress that had been delivered from Suzanne's that afternoon.
Grace carried the dress back to Elizabeth's room and presented it to her, stating, "My goodness, what a perfect match for those sandals!" Clearing her throat, Grace continued, "I'm told you look stunning in it. Will you try it on for me, please?"
Elizabeth had been sitting with a dejected look, her chin propped on a fist. Grace chuckled to see Elizabeth's eyes widen in shock, and then her jaw dropped in surprise. "B-b-ut Mother, how?"
Grace let out a bubbly laugh, rare indeed for Elizabeth's mother, and said, "Elizabeth, for a schoolteacher you sure have a way with words!" Grace continued on, "To answer your question, I have been blessed to be among Suzanne's top clientele. I rarely take advantage of that, but I did place a call on Friday afternoon and told her you would be there on Saturday morning. I told her that should you see anything you liked, it was to be charged to my account."
Elizabeth tried to think of what to say. She was tempted to refuse the offer, but before she could speak, Grace interjected with, "My Dear, I spent a good part of your growing up years attending to one committee or another, while the nannies attended to your childhood needs. Somewhere along the way, you and your sisters grew into lovely young women and I regret missing out on too many of your important life events. I can't change the past – no one can, but my dear Elizabeth, I wanted to do this for you."
Grace gently cupped her daughter's cheek with her hand and continued, "And yes, Elizabeth, I understand all too well how important tomorrow night is for you. I have never met Nathan, but I suspect it is important to him, too."
"You know, over the years, you and your sisters brought home a few young men to meet us. Some we approved of more than others. However, not one of those men ever received your father's blessing before they even asked – including Sir Lionel – that is until now. Your father thinks very highly of your Nathan. That means so much to me, it makes me want to meet him even more."
Without waiting for a reply, Grace started to walk towards the door. "Please let me know when you've changed into the dress and sandals. I can hardly wait to see how you look."
It was such a lovely summer evening, Nathan decided to take a walk and stretch his legs. He signed himself out in the attendance log book and started his tour of Hamilton – or at least the next block or two.
Hamilton was beautiful. Along the way he took note of a bistro, off to his right. If they were still open on his way back, he would stop and have some dinner in their charming outdoor seating area.
While he walked, Nathan was nervously reviewing the plans for his date with Elizabeth. This had been such a long time in coming, he had barely hoped for the day when they would share a meal together.
This was more than just a shared meal and he knew it.
He breathed a prayer of gratitude that he already knew William Thatcher. He couldn't imagine how anxious he would be feeling if he was also facing a first meeting with Elizabeth's father!
Up ahead, Nathan saw an outdoor flower market, dozens of wooden buckets, and barrels full to bursting with flowers of every variety and colour to choose from. He knew he wanted to take flowers to both Elizabeth and her mother. He stopped and asked the salesperson if they would be open tomorrow. When they confirmed they would be, Nathan picked out two different floral arrangements: a lovely mixture of summer flowers for Mrs. Thatcher and a hand-selected collection of roses for Elizabeth. As agreed, they would be ready for him to pick up tomorrow afternoon.
Feeling a lift that his flower mission was now accomplished, Nathan proceeded to walk a little further down the street and entered a beautiful park. His observation skills honed-in and he quickly realized - much to his chagrin - this was where the courting couples came. He was conspicuously alone.
He sat down on a vacant bench and silently prayed for tomorrow's date to go smoothly and for God to bless their time together. He also asked God to help Elizabeth to understand why he didn't mention the pending inquiry.
As he stood up and turned around to walk back to the barracks, he spied a jitney cab parked on the side of the road, so Nathan took the opportunity to ask some questions of the driver.
The driver said his route didn't normally run on Sundays, but he was available for hire as he was always looking for extra jobs to make ends meet.
So, Nathan made arrangements to be picked up at the Mountie barracks. Nathan felt even more prepared now that his transportation arrangements were taken care of.
The driver asked his destination and Nathan gave him the Thatcher's address.
The driver whistled and said, "Boy, you'll need a suit and tie for that address!"
Special thanks to Mamabethany for sharing her pearls of wisdom. Always a pleasure to collaborate with her.